Weather to take a few sharp turns in North Texas

[TexasStooge]

By LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News

The weekend cold snap is already a memory, with a light freeze expected Sunday night and a dramatic warm-up for the rest of the week.

Temperatures plunged as low as 19 degrees in McKinney and 20 in Denton Saturday night, said Steve McCauley, a meteorologist at WFAA ABC 8.

The forecast for tonight is nothing like the hard freeze felt Sunday morning. Conditions through Monday will instead be sunny and dry, Mr. McCauley said.

The cold spell's final freeze ought to roll in tonight at around 29 or 30 degrees, Mr. McCauley said. Temperatures will turn warm and humid until next weekend, when they will fall sharply, he noted.

“If it’s not the warmest winter, it’s definitely one of the warmest winters on record. Normally we freeze 14 times in January, and we did it once. And we barely did that,” Mr. McCauley said.

Relatively humid, moist weather will creep back Tuesday, said Dan Shoemaker, meteorologist at the National Weather Service. A cold front may move through Friday, beginning to dry conditions out again. Fire danger will increase Friday afternoon as north winds increase behind Friday’s front, Mr. Shoemaker said. Mr. McCauley recommended no precautions be taken for tonight’s mild freeze.

Joe Harris, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said water hoses should be drained and stored for tonight's freeze. Faucets should also be covered.

“We’ve had considerably warm temperatures. We’ve had a lot of vegetation that’s trying to grow. If people want to keep 'em through this cold snap, they need to protect them tonight,” Mr. Harris said.

Tender vegetation is best shielded by leaves, sheets or blankets, he added. Covers should be removed by midmorning tomorrow to re-expose plants to air and sunlight.

Mr. Harris expects clear skies tonight and no difficulty with Monday morning’s commute.

Above-normal temperatures in the 60s and 70s will roll in until at least Thursday, Mr. McCauley said. Tuesday and Wednesdays nights’ overnight lows will be in the 50s.

“We’re going to go from one extreme to the other - from bone dry and cold to warm and muggy,” Mr. McCauley said.

Temperatures may dip into the mid-20s tomorrow in rural areas around Dallas/Fort Worth, reaching 27 in McKinney and 28 in Denton, Mr. Harris said.

The region will warm up to around 60 tomorrow, Mr. Harris said. Tuesday morning will hit 40 degrees in the city for a low, pushing up near 70 on Tuesday, he said.

Conditions will be fairly pleasant through Wednesday, Mr. Harris said. Another cold front will move in late Thursday and likely remain through the weekend, he said.

Friday’s high temperatures will reach the upper 40s in the morning before a cold front sweeps across the area, cooling temperatures through the afternoon. Saturday’s high is 45, with a peak temperature Sunday of about 41.

“With the front that comes in, we’ve got a chance of light rain on Friday night. It’s moving out of the Metroplex on Saturday night,” Mr. Harris said.

Overnight lows remain above freezing next weekend, he said.

“It’s a cold rain for next weekend, but we’re not forecasting any freezing temperatures until the rain moves out,” Mr. Harris said.